save me, i'm lost

Today was lovely, if you like being a hermit. I slept until 9:30, which was desperately needed. Then I read about feng shui in bed for an hour and got myself fired up about cleaning out all of the crap I've accumulated over the last fourteen years of living in California. But before I could do that, I needed sustenance, so I took a shower and made bacon and eggs and v. strong coffee. And then I spent the rest of the day sorting, organizing, cleaning, etc. I've still got a ways to go, but things are already looking better, and I'm excited to get through the rest of my closet and reorganize my bookshelves even more.

Of course, I had to take a break to talk to my parents, which was v. welcome. And at some point I had to throw in the towel so that I could eat something...which meant a well-deserved trip to Des Amis. I was going to go and brainstorm Thorington, but Terry was hungry as well, so she went too and we brainstormed him verbally instead of in my hermity notebook. Also, in continued proof that I go there too often, one of the sommelier/manager guys said that the next time I go to my family reunion in Texas, I should coordinate with him since his parents live near there and we can do wine tasting and whisky tasting and gun shooting. Sounds like a fine plan!

But now, alas, I must sleep; I just realized that I'm going to get less than eight hours no matter how I slice it, and that's tragic. Goodnight!

maybe if i leave tonight i won't come back

I'm way tireder than I had intended to be tonight, as evidenced by the fact that I said 'tireder'. Last night was enough fun that it was totally worth it, but even though I thought I had behaved myself reasonably well, I woke up this morning feeling like death. That could be partially because I only got five and a half hours of sleep - in retrospect I should have canceled my writing date and slept in, but I'm eager to get cracking on Thorington's story, so I held to my commitment.

I probably shouldn't have; halfway there I realized I'd forgotten my headphones, which is a rookie move, and my fountain pen was out of ink. I don't think that even qualifies as a #firstworldproblem, but it's certainly an unusual one. However, I got some good brainstorming in, and I think I'm getting marginally closer to understanding at least enough about Thorington and the as-yet-unnamed heroine to start plotting the book.

But after writing, I was in desperate need of sustenance, so I went out for a steak-filled brunch with Kathia. Then I came home, attempted to rally for a party I was supposed to go to, and instead slept for two hours because I'm a flaky octogenarian instead of a hip thirty-something who honors her commitments. Stupid. I think the real issue, though, is that I'm still coming off the book-release adrenaline + the stress of my thanksgiving travels + the general annoyances I've had at the day job recently, and when I'm in an overly stressed mode, my first instinct is to hunker down, clear my head, and fix all my problems. If I were more balanced I would have gone out just to get out of my own head, and perhaps I'll do that this week - but this weekend, I'm feeling the desperate need to sleep, clean, and brainstorm before I go crazy.

So anyway, I slept for a couple of hours, and then spent the rest of the day cleaning out my closet, obsessing over my sales rankings, and making chili for me and Terry. I'm nowhere near done with my closet, but I cleared out all my drawers and went through half the hanging stuff, which leaves my shoes and the boxes on the top shelf as the main task for tomorrow. But now, I'm going to read a bit and then go to bed - goodnight!

groove is in the heart

I deeply regret not blogging last night, mostly because it means that I must blog tonight or I may be faced with a mutiny of all hands (or at least a mutiny of my mother, which is far scarier). But today was lovely. Since I will be accused of burying the lede if I don't share my good news straight away, I'll share my good news now: thanks to some pricing experimentation + a well-timed ad with an ebook daily deal newsletter, my first book (Heiress) suddenly became the #1 Regency romance on Amazon, B&N and Apple at the same time. Shocking! It's in the top fifty overall on Amazon, top twenty on B&N, and top sixty on Apple. This spike won't last forever - maybe a couple of days, and then it will taper dramatically - but hopefully it will lead to more name recognition and better sales of the other books in the series.

Needless to say, that was pretty much all I cared about this afternoon, which made me pretty useless, so it's good that I worked from home today. I snuck offline early to get a much-needed pedicure (yes, it's a need, not a want), and then I came home, dolled myself up, and sped out the door to meet up with Kathia for drinks and dinner before my corporate holiday party. I had planned to take Terry, but she bailed for another engagement, and luckily Kathia was up to the last-minute challenge. So we had two glasses of champagne at Nectar to continue celebrating her book launch and my advertising success, and then we had a delicious dinner next door, where we gorged ourselves on peppers and animal flesh and met a v. entertaining couple (the husband claimed that he ripped seven bodices today when he found out that we write romance).

After dinner, I would have happily continued to drink wine anywhere else, but we were good sports and grabbed a taxi to go downtown to the party. As it turns out, I'm super glad we went; the music was pretty good, the drinks were strong (and the bartender was way entertaining about the fact that Kathia had to drink Old Crow whisky if she didn't want to pay to upgrade), the dancing was fun (even if Kathia pulled me out onto the floor early, when the only other person dancing was the VP of the whole group), and I saw most of my fellow teammates who were in attendance, so it was all quite winning. And we adjourned around 11:30 so that we could catch a cab before the rush, and then went to Brazen Head, where we split some escargots and had awesome bailey's cappuccinos. Her husband joined us there and we hung out quite happily for an hour or so before I decided that I had to come home and go to bed.

And now I really must sleep - goodnight!

break the walls

I just realized that I'm going to fail in my goal of getting eight hours of sleep tonight - so much for being mindful. But today was lovely; I got eight hours of sleep last night, and I worked from home, so I didn't have to sit in traffic and hate myself for hours on end. Instead, I had several v. productive meetings, took a break to have lunch (leftover steak and two freshly-cooked eggs over easy, which were divine), made some coffee, and then had more meetings all afternoon. Then I dolled myself up, met up with a writing friend whom I had met on that writing retreat I did earlier this year (she was one of the strangers who I thought might kill me, but she missed that opportunity, and she missed it again tonight). We had dinner at Nettie's, and then she quite oddly used my hair dryer and hairspray in Nettie's bathroom (she had circled for parking for fifteen minutes without success, and so wasn't able to come up to my place and redo her hair, so I took it with me and we went to dinner without parking on my street).

When we were both suitably arrayed, we went to the launch party for Kathia's latest book (she's Kate Perry, for those of you who read contemporary romance). The launch party was super cute - Kathia had all sorts of alcohol (as you might have imagined), and all sorts of guests, and I met some really cool people and reconnected with some other author friends. Terry also came shortly after I arrived, and we got some good photo booth pics with Kathia in memory of our Paris trip (je t'aime). So that was all perfect, even if I came home and wasted an hour on the laptop to wind down before going to bed later than I had intended.

And now I really must sleep if I have any hope of getting up and training with Alyssa before work tomorrow - goodnight!

check your clothing at the door

No blog tonight; after a day full of staring at screens, I'm desperate to go to bed. It wasn't all bad, since I trained with Alyssa and had dinner with Terry at Fiesta...but the rest of it was exceedingly dull even by my standards. So I shall spare you the mundanities and bid you goodnight!

you ain't seen nothing like me yet

I was really really really really really not excited to go back to work today, which I suppose I should not blog about, but clearly I am too unenthused to care about career-limiting moves. Ha. It wasn't really that bad, and I'm supremely thankful that I have a flexible situation; I had an 8:30 meeting, but I took it from the comfort of my dining room table, so I avoided traffic and didn't drive down until 10:30. Then I slogged for several hours, most of which I spent talking people off ledges (my second favorite pastime! my favorite pastime is talking people onto ledges, which is quite synergistic). Then I came home, talked to Terry for a bit, talked to my sister for a bit, and then went to my favorite overpriced French bistro, where I met a new server (Haley) and drank a new wine (a beaujolais, which is usually hit or miss for me since they're often too light, but I was in the mood for something different).

And the good news is that I started writing my next book (DUKE OF THORNS). Granted, I haven't *really* started writing yet - I'm still brainstorming. And the brainstorming is a bitch since it's a whole new series, so I also have to think about who the other characters are and what they want, which I haven't had to do in ages since the Muses have been going on for so long. So this is half exciting, half absurdly scary. But I shall persevere; Thorington is an obnoxious hottie, and I want him to get his comeupance and a love story for the ages at the same time.

Now I really must sleep; I have grand plans to get up absurdly early and beat traffic so that I can work before work, and that will only happen if I sleep right now. Goodnight!

the winds of change are blowing wild and free

No time to blog - I must sadly get up and go to work tomorrow with all the other poor schmucks, so I need to sleep now. But today was a good first day back in the city of sin. I slept in, showered, had brunch with Terry and her family, spent some time sorting through my massive piles of books, and then had an impromptu Blood of Lincoln tea with John, Jess, and Chandlord. It was great to see them, and I have high hopes that I can be v social the next couple of weeks to store up memories for January, when I must become a hermit again so that I can write Thorington's story. Sigh.

After tea, I bought groceries, called my parents, continued sorting my books, and are supper with Terry's family (they ordered from Delarosa, which was tasty). I'm bound and determined to cut down on my belongings, which is some sort of anti-nesting instinct in between books, but I'm indulging it since cutting down in belongings wouldn't be a bad thing. I have strong hoarder genetics, so throwing away some things is occasionally an important step to keep my hoarding from metastasizing. But I have other, mire pressing things to do tomorrow, so tonight I must sleep!

there is no one to dry your tears

I have arrived back in the city of sin, after an entirely uneventful trip that I felt I deserved after the chaos of my outbound legs. Today was a great sendoff; I woke up with my alarm, ate some tasty breakfast foodstuffs (bacon, fresh side, and two eggs from my dad's chickens), and was relieved to know that the newborn miniature calf survived the night despite the yipping of coyotes outside my bedroom window (although if the fact that my dad has named him 'Sirloin' is any indication, he might not live to a ripe old age). Then I packed my remaining stuff and loaded up with the family for the trip to Des Moines.

Once we arrived in the city, we stopped at the hospital to see my grandmother, who continues to be somewhat confounding in that she isn't responding perfectly to treatment. But she seemed to be in okay spirits, and hopefully she'll get out sometime this week. Then we all adjourned to Aunt Becky's house for lunch/belated Thanksgiving; she made chicken tortilla soup with the appropriate garnishes, along with some veggies and some meats and cheeses, and it was all v. lovely. Aunt Becky and Uncle Brian were there, obvi, as were Uncle Mark, Aunt Kathy, and Drewbaby, and the nine of us spent several hours catching up while periodically being entertaining by Aunt B's cats. But I had to break up the party to go to the airport, where I discovered that I could have broken up the party half an hour later since the line for security had exactly one person ahead of me. Ha.

But my trip was uneventful, and exactly long enough to read an entire book (HIS MAJESTY'S DRAGON, which is an alternate history retelling of the Napoleonic Wars reimagined as though all the combatant nations had dragons in addition to navies). Now, though, I desperately need to sleep; tomorrow I hope to get back into some semblance of routine, or at least do some laundry and start thinking of Thorington's story. He needs a heroine before I can go much further, so maybe I should get on that. Goodnight!

baby, baby it's a wild world

No blog tonight - I won Rail Baron this afternoon, which was so exhilarating that I have no words left. Okay, that's not why I don't care to blog - the real reason is that I need to get up relatively early tomorrow to finish packing and go to the airport (with plans for lunch with the family up in Des Moines + a visit to my grandmother in the hospital), so I should get some sleep. But today was lovely, replete with leftovers + fresh food, my Rail Baron win, and a Garth Brooks special on tv that was surprisingly good. And now, to sleep - goodnight!

blood is like wine, unconscious all the time

I'm still not nearly caught up on sleep, but today was a v. lovely day. I slept close to ten hours, then ate some sausage, then showered, then had Thanksgiving dinner (aka lunch) with my parents and my brother. This is the first time the four of us have ever had Thanksgiving by ourselves; even in Ukraine, our grandparents came to visit that week, so we weren't alone then either (although I doubt that it was as tasty as today's meal). But it was all smashingly delicious and the solitude was actually kind of nice (this shouldn't surprise you, since I am a hermit).

The four of us eventually started playing a game of Rail Baron, which we weren't able to finish today. We were just getting into a groove when Sammi, my oldest niece, came over with her daughter. I hadn't spent any quality time with them in ages, so it was nice that they came; we hung out for an hour or two, and I was reminded that a) children can be super adorable (Sammi's daughter is four and is highly intelligent and very cute) and b) children can also be really sticky. So sticky that I'm not sure I can have kids (see hermity tendencies above - I am not used to being sticky). But it was fun to see them, and hopefully we'll see them again at Christmas.

After she left, [censored] and I went down to [censored] to leave water for the [censored], and then we all got back into Rail Baron. Sadly, we didn't finish tonight, so we're going to have to finish tomorrow - and by then, everyone's luck may change, which could do bad things for me and good things for my father (whose dice rolling has been so massively unlucky that I may have wet myself at some point from laughing so hard). So now, I must sleep so that I can enjoy my last full day at home tomorrow - goodnight!

hemorrhage

Today was a v. long day, but I suppose it was a good one. I woke up a little before eight under extreme duress, took a shower, grabbed some tea, and was out the door with [censored] by nine to go to Des Moines. My grandmother had an endoscopy today, so most of the family convened at the hospital up there since she'd been transferred up there from our hospital earlier this week. She's in the same hospital that my dad was in last year, so I'm all too familiar with its setup and am unhappy that I had the morbid realization that my visits home in the future are statistically likely to contain more hospital visits than they did in the first ten or twelve years that I lived in California. Boo.

Anyway, [censored] and I got there around eleven, and we saw her a couple of times in between preprocedure procedures. When the phlebotomist came in to draw blood, I had to step out, then felt vaguely faint, so I abandoned my dad and brother and went to Starbucks (the only saving grace of that hospital) to get some quick sugar. [censored] came down to join me, and our group soon expanded to include Aunt B (who must be brutally tired since she just got back from New Zealand, was working like crazy, and spent last night at the hospital), Uncle Mark, Aunt Kathy, and Drewbaby (who must be brutally tired since he had to hang out with his family without the benefit of all that cheap college beer he's probably used to). We ended up having lunch in the hospital cafeteria, where three out of three children would agree that the food wasn't entirely up to our expectations.

After lunch, we went back upstairs just as they were wrapping up the procedure, so I delivered food to my dad and the siblings got the verdict while [censored], Drew, Kathy and I waited in the waiting room. I also may have forever destroyed my fertility by accident, since I was washing my hands in a leisurely manner after using the bathroom and then noticed the sign that said 'female patients of childbearing years must check in with the receptionist before using the restroom'. Uh. I'm going to assume that this has something to do with wanting to do a pregnancy test and not that the restroom is unavoidably contaminated, but if that's not what it was, I apologize to my unborn children.

As it turns out, it appears that Gram's issues are going to resolve themselves, and she should be out of the hospital on Friday. So [censored] and I came home, followed closely by our father, and we rendezvoused with our mother and went out for supper in town. There, we ran into the town pharmacist and his wife and encouraged them to have a drink with us while we ate, since they were on the way out the door. So that was super lovely; I see the pharmacist occasionally since the pharmacy is one of the stores I go into when I'm home, but it's usually a thirty-second conversation since he's always busy there. I also saw Ashley and Nikki, who were in my class in high school, and I think we're going to try to get together when I'm home over Christmas (thus violating my usual hermitville tendencies, but it would be fun to see them).

And now I must sleep since I'm failing *miserably* at my goal of resting and relaxing on this vacation - goodnight!

hemoglobin is the key

I'm too tired to blog and I really need to stop staring at screens. But today was fine - I ate fresh eggs, drank great coffee, enjoyed my family, wrote a third of a page of notes for my next book, saw my latest book featured on USA Today's romance blog, watched "Rudolph" and realized that Santa is an asshole, saw some fine CBS programming, and got to hang out with [censored]. All in all it was a good day! And now I must sleep since you can never be too prepared for what tomorrow may bring - goodnight!

the only way you can know is to give it all you have

Today was far longer than I should have let it be, and I'm so far failing woefully on my goal of catching up on sleep during my vacation. That's probably because it's only a vacation from the day job; the writing job grinds on undeterred by things like sleep and hunger and caffeine withdrawal. Also, when I woke up at 8:30 this morning, I stupidly decided to get out of bed and have breakfast rather than sleeping for another four hours like my body probably needed. Oops.

But breakfast was good (I was in time to eat the sausage my parents had made, although I had to cook my own eggs), and then I messed around for a couple of hours before showering. I spent the afternoon creating the paperback for Prudence's story; I'd done most of the interior formatting on the plane from SF to Denver, but I had to finalize all of that and make the cover, which took a lot of time because I'm really nitpicky. So I was on my computer for about six hours straight, with a break to make some delicious french press coffee like the yuppie I am. Then I had supper with my parents, watched a tiny bit of fine CBS programming, and did a hangout with Steph and her boyfriend to talk about the boyfriend's self-publishing endeavors.

And then I swore I was going to go to bed, and I signed off chat and was on my way out...but then I got sucked into more work stuff, and suddenly it's after eleven. But I did some foam rolling (which hurt like hell since my back was a mess after my day of hunching over the laptop) and washed my face (sad that that's considered a break), so it all could be worse. And now I really must sleep - goodnight!

i woke up in mid-afternoon 'cause that's when it all hurts the most

I should have gone to bed four hours ago, but as per usual I got sucked into work (updating spreadsheets, sending emails to reviewers and marketing sites, etc.) and have suddenly discovered that it's after midnight. It's only 10:15pm in California, and 11:15pm in Denver, but I'm no longer in either of those places. I only slept three hours last night, which wasn't nearly enough, but it was so good to see Katie (and her husband, and their spawn) that the exhaustion was totally worth it. Katie was kind enough to get up at four a.m. to the sound of me showering rather than her daughter screaming, which made me feel somewhat guilty since this may have been one of those rare, magical nights when she could have slept straight through rather than getting up in the dark. Sadness. But Katie took me to the airport, I got through with no issues, was upgraded to first class, and got some extra sleep because we sat on the runway for forty minutes while they dealt with a software issues. Stupid.

But my parents were waiting in Des Moines when I got there, and we had a lovely breakfast at Perkins (well, the eggs weren't that great, but the company was good). Then we ran a couple of errands and came home. Iowa in November is much preferable to Iowa in March, I think - there are still some green things, even if it's freezing cold, and there is way less mud. However, as my father pointed out, this is the season when the deer run across the road with their heads down, which makes it harder to see the reflection of their eyes in your headlights, which makes for a dangerous drive.

We made it, though, and when we got home I unpacked, organized my room, and took care of some tings. Then I talked to my parents until my energy ran out, and I came downstairs with the intention of taking a shower or a nap (I failed at the first and only did thirty minutes of the second). Then I accompanied my father into town to visit my grandma; she's in the hospital (was admitted yesterday while my parents were trying to pick me up the first time) and it's unclear exactly what's going on. So that was all vaguely depressing. But I got over my depression when my mother made zucchini lasagna - it's just like regular lasagna, but with zucchini slices instead of pasta, and it was really super delicious.

And then I came downstairs to work, and you know the rest. I need to take some time off this week, but I also want to keep flogging EARL at all interested parties since I want this book to break out a bit more (and it has a chance to - it's still in the top fifty regency romances on Amazon and B&N, which is nothing to sneeze at). But I also don't want to die of exhaustion - this ain't the Donner Party, after all, and I can theoretically take a break and rest my proverbial horses without worrying that a blizzard is going to trap me for the rest of the winter and leave me totally fucked. Yes, my Puritanical roots are at war with all the attempts I've made to make myself a more relaxed, more enlightened person. We shall see if the Puritans win or if I can somehow will them away through deep, deep relaxation. Goodnight!

lord i'm coming home to you

Too tired to blog - I got stranded in Denver due to mechanical issues, which was unfortunate. But luckily Katie was home, so rather than leaving me to the tender mercies of a creepy airport hotel, she picked me up, we got wine and takeout Thai food, and then hung out with her adorable daughter (
until the daughter went to bed. Then Katie, James and I engaged in some sort of Scandinavian ritual that mostly just seemed to be taking over drinks and candles without checking our phones - highly civilized.

But Katie and I stayed up until midnight taking, and I have to get up in three hours to go back to the airport, which may have been ill advised. Wish me luck - goodnight!

this greed, it's bigger than you and me

Terry said that I buried the lede in the last post, so I'll say it again -- 'The Earl Who Played With Fire' is out now. Yay! No paperbacks yet, but you can get the ebooks on Google/Amazon/B&N/Kobo (Apple coming as soon as they approve the file, which could take a century or two). And it's doing better than I expected it to do - as of tonight it has cracked the top 100 historical romances on both Amazon and B&N, so that's a totally awesome start. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going, since awesome sales would be a soothing balm for the nervewracking period while I wait for the first reviews to come in. Yes, I'm a masochist.

sssanyway, I had to work today, but I was able to work from home, so it wasn't all bad. And I was able to slack off a bit early and send out my newsletter, which was clearly responsible for kicking the sales into gear. After that, I looked up a bit blearily, discovered that Terry was home (I knew she'd been home for hours, but I had basically ignored her even though we were in the same room), and made plans for a celebratory dinner. We went to my favorite overpriced French place, where Todd made sure to introduce me to Erica, and the general feeling of warmth and steakiness was enough to almost make me happy to be there instead of in Paris (where I would rather have been). We had champagne, which felt v. celebratory, and I had a glass of wine with my steak, and all was right with the world.

After steak, we came home and I undertook the task of packing for Iowa, since I leave for the best state in the union tomorrow morning. And now I must go to sleep so that I can get up, shower, get on a plane, and sleep some more -- goodnight!

i'll sell you a meaning

I was going to skip blogging tonight since I mostly can't tell you anything you don't already know. But then I remembered that's true almost every night of the week. So suffice it to say that I got up far earlier than I wanted to but far later than I probably should have, left the house at 6:45, and made it to Palo Alto in time to train with Alyssa. My body is totally wrecked from the last few weeks of limited sleep and maximum wine, so I'm looking forward to taking a break when I go back to ye olde Iowa on Saturday.

Post workout, I showered, put on a dress and some red lipstick to make myself feel like a stylish professional instead of a ruined hag, and went to work, where I slogged all day. I was trying to get out early to beat traffic, but someone put a meeting on my calendar for 3:30 - and it turned out that the team had gotten me cupcakes and champagne to celebrate my book launch. They even got two gluten-free cupcakes so I could choose between them (I went with coconut, which was delectable), and they gave me a card and everything. It was super sweet, and it was a nice reminder that I'm v. lucky to work somewhere where I don't have to hide my side profession.

After that, I hung out some more and eventually left the office at six, which was prime horrible time for the commute, so I had dinner at Palo Alto Sol while working on some marketing stuff for zee romance novel. Then I drove home and messed around until now because my brain is too fried to be productive but also too wired for sleep. But I'm going to make a valiant attempt right now, since I could get nine hours tonight if I play my cards right. Goodnight!

oh...not goodnight. If you can't wait a moment longer for Alex and Prudence, they're available on Google and Kindle. Apple/Kobo/B&N will be up in the next couple of days, whenever they finish processing. Enjoy!

when all you've got is hurt

Another day, another series of triumphs and extreme annoyances. Mostly annoyances, to be honest. I worked from home today (triumph), which meant I was able to sleep nine hours (double triumph). But I ate a ridiculous assortment of things because I had no groceries, and it rained most of the day, and I was generally cranky and surly and petulant. I'm pulling myself out of my surly spiral, but it's challenging because the surly spiral is so warm from all of my rage energy. This is all a somewhat oblique way of saying that some day job stuff this week got on my last nerve, but I'm recovering and am determined to go in tomorrow with a different attitude (or at least brighter lipstick).

So I slogged until 6:30, put on a dress (and brighter lipstick) and had dinner with Lauren (aka Subz) and Terry at Presidio Social Club. The waiter was a bit off; when he cleared my plate, he first asked, 'are you done with your steak?', which should have been obvious since there was no steak left. Then he said, 'oh, did they forget your mashed potatoes?' and I had to say 'no, I ate them all,' which he asked me to repeat since he apparently didn't understand what I said. Tanks for making me feel like a heifer, waiter. This would never happen to a VIP at Des Amis, is all I'm saying.

But it was good to see Lauren and Terry, of course, and good to take a break. Then I came home and worked for the last two hours, which was good in the sense that I got some stuff set up promo-wise for the next book (triumph), but super annoying because my formatter sent me an email claiming he'd finished my files, but then he didn't attach them (major annoyance). So now I have to wait for him to actually send me the files before uploading, which will delay the onsale time by at least nine hours. Since I had hoped to upload tonight and go live tomorrow, this is super annoying. But I have been more angry for less reason before, so I'm sure I'll overcome this as well. And on that note, goodnight!

love lies bleeding in my hands

Today was mostly not winning, but I'm in a surprisingly good mood despite that. I woke up at six, got out the door and on the road before traffic was too bad, and made it to the office around 7:40. I know, so crazy. To do this, I didn't wash my hair, and I chose to wear yoga pants to my director's staff meeting - perhaps a career limiting move, but it was better than sacrificing an extra half an hour of sleep. And since the director wasn't there, I feel v. justified in my decision. So I had meetings from eight to ten-thirty, skipped out to train with Alyssa, came back, and had meetings from one to four. At that point I suppose I was supposed to answer email and do all the work I don't get a chance to do while sitting in meetings, but instead I chose to skip out and drive home before the first rain of the season caused a total carpocalypse.

It only took me ninety minutes to get home, so I think I won, but I won by taking 85 to 280, then getting off 280 in Noe Valley and driving all the way back through the city rather than staying on the freeway. I think this was a win, since maps was predicting 2hrs on 101. When I got here, I ended up slacking off for a couple of hours, which was unprecedented - Terry and I ordered a pizza and opened a bottle of wine, and we watched 'How I Met Your Mother', 'New Girl', and the pilot of 'Dracula' (which is fascinating because I have a scary crush on the lead, but the show itself is pretty terrible). Finally, I dragged myself back to my to-do list and slogged through some of it for the past two hours, which isn't enough but is better than nothing. And now I'm going to try to sleep for nine hours - I'm working from home tomorrow, so hopefully I can catch up on sleep and also catch up on work.

But first, two things:
- happy birthday to my father! yay!
- Prudence and Alex's book is now available on Google Play, if you feel you must read it immediately (or if Play happens to be your media vendor of choice). It should be out everywhere else by the end of the week, if my formatter doesn't keep sitting on it.

Goodnight!

arriviste

Today mostly passed without anything of interest to you, particularly since I spent three hours commuting and nine hours at the office. However, I made it home in a fog of complete exhaustion and knew that I needed to get something that would revive my dying spirits. So I went to my favorite French place, where I had a steak and two glasses of wine and a pot of green tea while drafting my newsletters (my real one and my friends and family one) and writing in my journal. This was just what the doctor ordered, if the doctor is a sadistic asshole who is determined to make me work sixteen hours a day.

I kid, I kid. I got through what I wanted to get through and left feeling satisfied. I also me the official VIP list at the restaurant, thanks to Fabian and Todd, who decided that they love me enough (and, likely more importantly, that I spend enough) that they should hook me up. Not that hooking me up means anything, since I always order the same thing and tend to show up when the place is relatively quiet. But they got my phone number, which apparently means I can call ahead if I need something special. Or something. As long as they keep pouring me wine and bringing me steak, and don't care that I have my laptop with me, the rest of it is pretty superfluous.

But unfortunately the commute has not put me on the VIP list, so I have to go to bed immediately. I'm so tired that I may make the questionable move of going to my boss's boss's staff meeting in yoga pants tomorrow because I can't be bothered to shower. Yes, it has come to this. Goodnight!

i ain't got no crystal ball

I'm going to bed nearly two hours later than I had hoped, but I'm v. pleased with the progress I made today to finish Prudence and Alex's book. I finished proofreading, input all of my edits to my own source doc for use in the paperback, sent the edits to my ebook formatter for use in the ebook files, and also made a test epub of my own for some nefarious purpose (not really nefarious, just stupid). And I managed to talk to my parents and flirt with the bartender at one of the restaurants I usually go to (and wave at the sommelier at the other restaurant I usually go to - he probably wondered why I've forsaken him), so it's almost like I was social.

But really, I wasn't social; I missed the only thing I was supposed to go to this weekend (Jess's recital) because I couldn't take an hour and a half off. This probably needs to end soon - it's not really sustainable to work fourteen hour days every day of the week without rest or respite, but I also don't want to drop the ball on either of my jobs, and I'm determined to be successful in all arenas. The problem is that my life is also an arena, and I'm clearly dropping the ball there if you look at how many times my blog posts have mentioned 'work' instead of 'friends' in the last couple of months. Sigh.

Still, I'm super psyched to get Prudence and Alex out this week so that I can maybe take a couple of days off over Thanksgiving - I don't even know what I'll do with myself if that dream of not doing anything for forty-eight hours comes true. And on that sad, stupid dream, I'm going to bed - goodnight!

i've got my rock moves

My productivity per hour is really falling - I blame the fact that I'm constantly tired and slightly surly. Of course, I did get stuff done today; I proofread about half of Alex and Prudence, I bought a new laptop since my old one was on the verge of dying just when I need it most, and I took care of some various and sundry tasks. I also had a lovely dinner with Priyanka, where we split a bottle of BYOB wine, ate some spicy vegetarian Thai food (I realized that I didn't eat any meat at all today, which is a new, unwelcome record), and discussed our mutual obsession for the royal family.

But I still have far more stuff to do this weekend than I have time for...so we shall see how this works out for me. Now, though, I'm desperate to sleep - goodnight!

won't you smile awhile for me

You can probably guess how today went down. I sat in traffic, had a bunch of meetings, had lunch with some people from my team (you can't guess that we went to San Jose for poutine, which I couldn't eat because the gravy had flour in it), had more meetings, and then escaped to drive back to the city with one of my coworkers in tow.

You can also guess that I was exhausted through all of this, since I say it all the time. But I put on a dress and rallied, then grabbed Terry and met up with Kathia and her sister for drinks. A single glass of champagne turned into multiple bottles of wine and some finger food, which was lovely, particularly since we kept asking for sexy reds and the owner kept complying. I was out with them for four hours, but when kathia and her husband decided to go out beyond that, I called it a night. And now I must sleep as much as possible so that I can work all day tomorrow - goodnight!

some days i just pray to the gods of sex and drums and rock and roll

I continue to be hideously overworked between my two jobs, which is quite unfortunate, so I haven't come anywhere close to catching up on my sleep or getting caught up in general. Today was more of the same; I got up early to train with Alyssa at eight, then made it to work by ten, where I had meetings straight from ten to five. Then I worked for an hour, had dinner with Heather (aka dear respected madam), drove home, talked to Terry, and worked on a variety of tings until now. And now I desperately need to go to bed so that I can attempt to function appropriately tomorrow. If I don't sleep this weekend I'm going to die - but I also have to wrap up final stuff with the book, do some marketing stuff, make a couple (or three) presentations for the day job, organize some household tings, and try to get through more of my to-do list. Ugh. Yes, I know everyone is busy and this is not particularly exciting - tanks for listening. And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

why are you my gravity

I think I've hit a massive wall - I was so tired this morning that I couldn't really think properly, which was detrimental to my plans to get caught up on all the million things on my day job list. But I worked from home so that I could sleep until the glorious hour of eight a.m., and then I worked pretty steadily until 6:30 (other than the times when I caught myself staring off into space). After work, Terry and I went to Des Amis, where Todd may or may not have been surprised to discover that I have a friend (I won't go so far as to say that he assumes I have multiple friends, but this is a start). We celebrated the fact that I'm done with my book, so that's exciting, even if I still have many many things to do to release it. I had intended to go out more hardcore tonight, but between my extreme exhaustion and the fact that Alyssa's workout yesterday left me barely able to walk (seriously), sticking close to home was a good call.

We got home around eight, and we v. serendipitously ran into our downstairs neighbor, who told us all about the man who gives him and his wife private yoga lessons (and has for a decade) - the guy is apparently a yoga instructor and a nude model for one of the art schools in the area, as well as being an ex-Navy guy, and the guy's girlfriend (or ex?) is or was a professional dominatrix on the side. It was all v. odd, but Terry remains more convinced than ever that someday I will be a seventy-year-old Marina-dweller with those kind of stories (which is probably true). Then I planned to work for 30mins, which turned into 2.5hrs. Oops. There go my plans of getting nine hours of sleep - at this rate, I'll get less than 7.5. But that's better than five, and hopefully this weekend I can get caught up. And on that boring note, it's time for bed!

in a tidal wave of mystery

I'M DONE. YAY.

Of course, this would be more exciting if I had slept last night, or if I didn't still have a million things to do to release the book. But I sent off the entire file to the formatter, so I should have an epub to put up for sale next week (unless I decide to push it out). And I really am excited, despite my nausea-inducing lack of sleep - I think this book is possibly my strongest yet (although I'll always have a soft spot for Nick and Ellie), so hopefully the readers enjoy it.

The rest of my day was long and also exhaustion-inducing - I woke up at eight after sleeping for five hours and did two hours of work from home before driving down to train with Alyssa. I was super tight from sitting at my desk working for a million hours, so it was a struggle, but a good struggle. Then I had just enough time to shower and grab a smoothie before going to work and sitting in meetings for 4.5 hours (most of which I was leading, but I didn't get caught taking micronaps between my sentences, so that's good). Then I had dinner with a writer friend of mine who happened to be in town from Dallas for one night only, and it was fabulous to catch up with her even though it put me three hours behind on my night.

But now I'm done, I can sleep the sleep of the just (if the just only get seven hours of sleep), and I'm going to work from home tomorrow so that I can get more stuff done with the day job without burning three hours on the commute. Goodnight!

timber

Today was a remarkably miserable day, considering that I spent it doing mostly what I wanted to do. I got up, worked from home for a couple of hours, then went into the office, where I was marginally productive and got through the three performance reviews I needed to give. Then I bounced around 4:30, picked up John, and carpooled back to the evil city. That was a nice interlude between my two jobs, since I got home and promptly worked from 5:30 until now. You will notice that 'now' is almost three a.m. I'm going to die tomorrow.

But I'm so very very close to being done with Prudence - I might have made it tonight if I hadn't remembered that I needed to write a guest blog post for a historical blog, which took way more time than I anticipated spending on it. Sadness. Now, though, I think I had best go to bed before I stay up all night, since I have to be on tomorrow at work. Goodnight!

feliz navidad

Today was more of the same, mostly - in fact, Priyanka guessed what I did today based on the last month's worth of blog posts that she's read, and she got an 8/10 for accuracy (I deviated from course by ordering pizza instead of going out for steak, and she couldn't have guessed that I met up with John after my writing date). So you can probably guess it too - I met up with Kathia at 8:45, wrote for a couple of hours, and then had coffee with John. Then, I had a late breakfast, during which I wrote some more. When I got home, I had an hour of administrative tasks to take care of, and then I took a nap before writing for another couple of hours. Then I ate pizza with Terry, dolled myself up, and went out.

Yes, I went out. Shocking, I know. Tonight was Adit and Priyanka's holiday party, which is absurdly early so that they can throw the first one. It was at a bar in the financial district, and Terry drove us there since she planned to leave early, but I had to uber it home. I had been looking forward to this with high anticipation and mild dread for a couple of weeks - high anticipation because I always have fun at their parties, and dread because I can't afford to be hungover tomorrow. And I'm shocked and surprised to report that I didn't get drunk tonight. I had a couple of cocktails (a Hemingway daiquiri, because they're my fave, and a 'doctor's orders', which was a gin fizz renamed for Priyanka for the night), but I was too freaked out about finishing the book to really let myself go.

However, the party was still fun. I saw all the usual suspects early; Chris and Connie (who are having a little Boyd in February) were there, as were Jav and Folkman, so it was good to catch up with them. Katrina and Chandlord were there, although I didn't talk to them for very long, and John and Jess showed up late and left early in a rather confusing turn of events. I also talked to strangers (gasp), including a guy named Andrew who was my year at Stanford and said that the page I made for our ten-year class book was deemed by consensus in his friend group to be the second-best page in the book (probably because I crassly and obviously marketed my romance novels and put my racy covers on my page instead of standard pics of babies and weddings). And I chatted to Jose, who I had met before, and Sumeet, who I had also met before. In fact, there were probably quite a few people I had met before, but I'm so terrible with names that I totally forgot most of them. Sadness.

But I left a little after one, despite some serious peer pressure from Adit and Priyanka, and now I'm going to sleep the sleep of the just and get up tomorrow to crank out the final edits. Goodnight!

don't make a scene don't make a sound

I'm typing on my phone, so please forgive any typos. Today was the kind of day I wish most of my days were - I took it off from the day job, so I was able to do whatever I pleased. And whatever I pleased meant that I met Kathia for a writing date at 8:40, wrote for a couple of hours, and then adjourned to spend a couple of hours with the girl I've hired to be my part-time marketing assistant. In really excited to work with her, and I'm hopeful that investing in some more marketing now will result in better sales in the future. I just don't have the time to execute all the ideas that I have right now, and since I'm the only one who can write my books, it makes sense to outsource the rest.

After that, I got a facial and a haircut too repair the ravages of the last few weeks of too much sleep and not enough primping. Then I went to Nettie's and had fish tacos and chardonnay while writing and flirting with the bartender (who is in a committed relationship, so he's safe from cougars like me). And now I must sleep so that I can write like mad tomorrow - goodnight!

i want to be the sand inside that hourglass

Today was ridiculously busy, but I'm oddly in quite a good mood despite it all. I woke up around six and took too much time getting ready, so I wasn't able to write before going to the gym, but that may have been too much to expect. But I left in time to make it to Palo Alto without being late, so that was something. I trained with Alyssa, showered, went to work, slogged for a couple of hours (with a break to attempt to eat a rib, which was a messy proposition while standing at a table near my cube), and then had meetings from one to five. I then washed my coffee mug, switched into yoga pants, and drove home - and I'm glad I got comfortable, since it took an hour and forty-five minutes, with enough stop-and-go that I almost made myself carsick. Blech.

But when I got home, I spent ninety minutes talking to another historical romance writer on the phone, and then I watched the last quarter of the Stanford/Oregon game, which got far too exciting for a few minutes. Then, when victory was in hand, I went down the street to my favorite expensive French bistro, where I worked on Prudence, ate steak, and continued to befriend the staff (the main guy on duty, Stephen/Steven, comped me some wine, so clearly they have added me to their list of odd eccentrics who must be appeased). And now I must go to bed - I'm taking tomorrow off so that I have a three-day weekend in which to wrap up the most pressing remaining stuff with Prudence, so I have grand plans to make tomorrow super productive. And I'm getting a facial and a haircut, which is less productive but perhaps just as necessary for my vanity. Hopefully I can get through everything this weekend, get the book out in ten days or so, and then be done with this so that I can take a break, remind my friends that I exist and that I love them despite my absence, and then begin this whole sad, epic torture all over again with my next book. Goodnight!

i hope you spend your days and they all add up

I'm typing on my tablet, so apologies for any typos - I left my laptop in the car in an effort to avoid doing more work, which I think was wise despite the inefficiencies caused by trying to your on this thing. Today was much better than yesterday from a mood standpoint, although I was at the office until 8:30, which was a bummer. And driving down today took an hour and forty minutes even when I left at 6:40, so that was a double bummer.

But work was mostly fun, including a champagne social at for, and I took a break at five to have dinner at Fiesta with Terry. So, don't cry for me, Argentina (or, don't cry for me, people who have regular hours but can't drink at work). And now I must go to bed do that I can get up at six and start this all over again. Goodnight!

settle down, it'll all be clear

The internet isn't working, so you don't get a blog post. Which is probably for the best since I'm in an utterly foul mood. But I ate zucchini tonight, so that's a positive! And now I'm going to journal all the feelings so they will let me sleep - goodnight!

a hurricane of frowns

You don't get a blog tonight - I feel incredibly nauseated for some unknown reason, as I have for most of the afternoon/evening, so I'm going to lie down instead of typing anything fun for you to read. If you really want something to read, go to my romance site and check out the back cover copy for Prudence's book. Otherwise, carry on with your day and perhaps I won't want to throw up on my keyboard when it's time to write my blog tomorrow night. Goodnight!

safe and sound

I think I'm about to die, but I sent the final draft to my editor just now. Today's interminable writing slogfest was brought to you by caffeine (I overdosed by noon and felt queasy all afternoon), steak and wine (which would have been great, except my new best friend/host at my favorite French place sent me a small chocolate brownie for dessert, which I shouldn't have eaten, but it was delicious enough that I'll take the gluten hit), two naps, and a lot of pain. I was out the door by 8:45 this morning and wrote with Kathia until almost one. Then I took a couple of hours off to eat lunch, nap, talk to my parents, shower, and procrastinate. But I hit it again at 6:30 and worked until now, with a short break to take a nap at 9:45 that I somehow miraculously awoke from feeling more clear-headed (which never happens with ill-advised ten p.m. naps). And I somehow managed to write a decent new scene for near the end of the book while watching a couple make out for ninety minutes at Des Amis, which I found quite odd and just slightly offputting.

But the final draft is done!! This would be more exciting if I didn't know that I have another thirty hours of work to do in the next two weeks to research little bits of stuff that I hadn't looked up yet, do a deep copyedit of the second half (I neglected copyedit/word choice issues on the last half in the interest of getting it to the editor), proofread the whole thing, set it up for print and proofread it again, and write the dedication/acknowledgements/etc. Ugh. Still, I'm really happy with how this book is turning out - I think it might be my best yet. Or if it's not, I won't know it for another few weeks, when the reviews will begin and all my sunny optimism can be crushed by the interwebs.

Now, though, I desperately need to sleep, since I have to slog all day for the day job tomorrow. Goodnight!

the final countdown

I'm out of words. I went to Goody at 9:30, where I met up with Kathia, and I wrote for four hours straight, with a short break to have 'lunch' of two hard-boiled eggs and a Mexican Coke. Yes, I'm living the dream. Then I came home, took a bath, wrote the back cover copy for Alex and Prudence's book (a necessary evil that I'd been putting off forever), and then met up with Kathia at a wine bar to write for another two hours. Thus rendered completely braindead, I abandoned her and met Terry at Nettie's, where I had an absolutely amazing dish of halibut, clams, and slow-cooked pork. Yes, that sounds like a mistake, but it was totally wonderful. And the 'high tea' cocktail I had with it wasn't so shabby either.

But now I'm desperate to sleep; tomorrow is going to come all too soon, and I am so fucking desperate to finish this book that I need to get myself in gear early tomorrow and write all day without relief. Goodnight!

carry on, carry on

Today was long and brutal, but I'm in a much better mood than I was a few hours ago, so I'll take it. I got up somewhat early, drove to the office, and slogged for five hours or so before deciding that I would beat traffic and come home early. Once here, I worked for another couple of hours, took a nap, and then fought my own surly nature to decide what to do next. A big part of me wanted to crawl even deeper under the covers and pretend that I had never decided to become a writer. But I forced myself out of that mood, put on a fancy dress, and met Kathia for a writing date. We ended up going to Nectar, which was hilarious because we ran into Terry there, who had met another of her friends for a drink.

So Kathia and I ended up being the eccentric writer friends who talked for five minutes, then abruptly said that it had been lovely but that we had work to do. We grabbed a table and wrote for three hours, with help from a couple of glasses of wine and champagne. And I must say that I'm in a much better place than I thought I was - hopefully tomorrow will be enough to get through the bulk of the rest, but we shall see. It was nice, though, to have a friend in the hell I was going through, since Kathia was feeling similarly despondent and our dark nadirs somehow canceled each other out.

We finished around eight, and then we retrieved Terry from the group of people she was with and dragged her to dinner with us. I ate copious amounts of steak, although I didn't finish it, and I am still friends with Terry even though she ordered a chicken salad. Then we parted ways with Kathia and came home. And now I must sleep as much as possible, since I'm meeting Kathia tomorrow morning to end this fucker once and for all. Goodnight!

sunday evening in your street

I continue to work nonstop - it's like it's 2006 again, except I spend three hours less per day working because I'm driving back and forth from San Francisco instead of Palo Alto. And some of my work is for myself, rather than the man. But still. Today was somewhat brutal; I woke up at 5:45, was out the door by 6:15, and made it to Palo Alto around seven to do some writing at Starbucks before seeing Alyssa. The traffic was so blissfully good that early in the morning that it's almost enough to tempt me to do that every day. But then I remember that I hate mornings with the fire of all the sunrises that I never want to see, so I doubt that will happen regularly. Still, I'm going to try to get up early tomorrow as well...wish me luck.

Anyway, I wrote for an hour, then trained with Alyssa, then tried to make myself look presentable (I was clothed, so that's good enough), then sat in meetings straight from ten to three with approximately ten minutes to grab lunch. Yay. I cleared out as soon as I was done with meetings, since I didn't want to deal with Halloween traffic, and when I got to the city I wrote for ninety minutes at Philz. Then I came home and Terry and I had dinner at Zushi Puzzle, which was tasty even though I think it gave me a headache. Or maybe my ulcer friend sent a headache for me as a present. Then we came home, and I abandoned her to do day job stuff for the past two hours. Alternating between writing and the day job is actually going surprisingly well right now, if you ignore the fact that I'm essentially working two full-time jobs and do not see any of my friends who don't live with me.

And on that bleak note, I'm going to go to bed and hope that my rage at the loud, drunk Marina kids doesn't keep me awake. Goodnight!

she's holding her tonic like a cross

I think my brain has melted. This is an unfortunate situation, since I must think during every active moment of the day for the next few weeks if I'm going to stay on top of my many games. Today was brutal, though; I met Kathia for a writing date at seven (okay, I showed up at 7:20), wrote until 8:30, and then caught a v. nausea-inducing bus to Mountain View, which deposited me at 10:15. Then I had a string of meetings and tasks all afternoon, which was quite painful, but I got out of there at 5:50 to catch another nausea-inducing bus back to the city. The commute is not my friend, and I am reminded that I'm happier when I drive even if I have theoretically less chance to work (although since I can't work anyway, it doesn't really matter).

So I got to the city at 7:15, and then met up with a girl who may do some marketing/promo stuff for me (or, rather, for my alter ego). She seemed really smart and cool, but I was a little braindead since I had just woken up from a nausea-avoiding nap and didn't really wake up until halfway into our meeting, at which point she probably already thought that I was a lost cause. But we're going to talk again next week, so hopefully this will work out. Then I went to Roam for a burger and ended up writing over truffle fries and a glass of wine for close to two hours, which means that I finished writing a new first chapter for Alex and Prudence. I have grand plans to get up at 5:30 tomorrow and read through it one more time before sending it off to my editor (and then training with Alyssa), but this grand plan already sounds like a bad idea.

But I'm too tired to edit it tonight, particularly after getting home and dealing with a day job issue, so I think I'll go to bed instead and hope for the best tomorrow. Goodnight!

no sugar tonight

You get another boring blog post because I had another boring day - actually, it was a heavily productive, interesting day, but none of it is of interest to you. I woke up early, wrote for a couple of hours, did some day job stuff, trained with Alyssa, and then was in the office from one to six-thirty. Then I grabbed some coffee with the intention of writing some more, but that was a failure. Then I came home and tried to write again, but it was still a failure, so I'm throwing in the towel. Tomorrow is another day, though - one that will start with a writing date at seven a.m., since I'm bound and determined to finish this book no matter how many friends I lose or how many people I leave dead and bloodied along the way [yes, that's a Zoolander quote]. And on that note, goodnight!

we are all just runaways

I had meant to write tonight, but I'm too tired, so I'm going to go to bed and hit it hard before work. I did the same this morning - I met Kathia at 7:15 and wrote until 9:30, when it was time to speed down to the office. This was actually a v. good plan, since I avoided all traffic, put in a full day of work, left at 6:30, ate some Chipotle, and avoided traffic on the way back as well. If I could get out of having morning meetings I would do this every day, but unfortunately it's not possible.

However, I'm going to try to write again tomorrow, so wish me luck. And that, sadly, is all I have to say - all work and no play, etc. Goodnight!

maybe i'm a different breed

First, I must say that I wasn't drunk last night - I was typing on my tablet because I didn't feel like getting out of bed to get my laptop, and I didn't realize how many typos I'd created. Oops. sssanyway, today was another writing odyssey, or at least the morning was; I met up with Kathia in North Beach at 9:30 and wrote for a couple of hours, which was excellent. I'm feeling good about where I am, although I need to work all week when I'm not at the day job to meet my current goals. After that, I walked back to the Marina, had lunch (huevos) down the street, and didn't get shot in whatever shootout happened on Chestnut Street, since I luckily had decided not to go down there as I had previously considered.

I spent an hour or so procrastinating after that, then had a ninety-minute massage, which did wonders for me. Then I talked to my parents, who were in good form as usual. After that, Terry and I had dinner at Nettie's, since I was craving fish tacos - and we were v. sad to learn that they're going out of business at the end of the year, no doubt because having a restaurant in San Francisco is not a great proposition unless you're totally full every night. Then we came home and I worked on a variety of administrative tasks while watching "Project Runway".

But that's all boring. This tidbit isn't: I found out that the Russian version of HEIRESS is now available! I hadn't heard that it had been released, but I started getting the occasional hit for my name in Russian on zee romance blog, so I started searching. And I found this: http://www.labirint.ru/books/411681/. Isn't the cover gorgeous? I can't read Russian, but I can understand just enough to tell that the first chapter sample is indeed the first chapter of my book. They've retitled it something that translates to 'Forbidden Pleasures', but that's to be expected; Madeleine and Ferguson still have the same names (Мадлен and Фергюсон), so that's cool.

So that's my exciting news for the day. And now I must go to sleep since I have to get up for a writing date before going to work - goodnight!

you're giving me such sweet nothing

The writing is going shockingly well - I keep waiting for it all to go sideways, but thus far I'm on track. I was, v uncharacteristically, out the door this morning before Terry was, since I had a writing date with Kathia at 8:30. I wrote very diligently for two hours, then abandoned Kathia and my laptop to go to a museum with Chandlord.

The museum was the deYoung, and the exhibit was a retrospective of Bulgari jewelry from the '60s to the'90s. Some of it was truly hideous, in keeping with the times, but there were some gorgeous trembnlant brooches in diamond and platinum that I would wear m if I had a) the occasion aand b) the funds. And I found myself in love with the emeralds in the collection, which makes it somewhat likely that someone in one of my boss will get some fabulous emeralds at some point.

After that, Chandlord and I found an ice cream truck with the usual artisanal soft serve (okay, only usual in San Francisco and probably Portland). Then I dropprd her off, took a nap, took a shoGoodnighhtet Kathia at a wine bar for another marathon writing session. I accomplished way more than I deserved since I was quite distracted by all the marina kids in their stupid must-get-drunk-at-5 kind of life. I eventually left, had dinner with Terry, read a magazine, and realized my body is now trying to sleep. And I shall let it - I have another writing date tomorrow and I want the end to be in sight before I go back to the editor. Goodnight!

i push the trigger and i pull the thread

Today was utterly lovely, as productive days that end in steak always are. I woke up, showered, put on yoga pants, and went to the office, where I claimed that my yoga pants and fingerless gloves were my Halloween costume and that I had dressed as a romance writer. Yes, I'm lazy. But I got a lot of random stuff done, which was good. Then I left around 2:00 to beat traffic (but not enough, since the approach to the city was a standstill), got home, checked email, did a bit more stuff, changed into a dress and redid my makeup, and then met up with Kathia at a cafe down the street. We wrote for some time before being joined by Terry, who is on probation until we determine whether her work style meshes with ours. Yes, this sounds harsh, but there are few people whom I can meet up with at a cafe and work with, and the need for productivity right now forsakes all bonds of fellowship (yes, that's a Lord of the Rings quote).

Anyway, we wrote at Rapha, then adjourned to the wine bar across the street and wrote some more. All told it was about three and a half hours, and I feel great about what I got done - I probably wrote ten or fifteen pages and edited another five or ten. Then Terry went to a party and Kathia and I had dinner, which consisted of prime rib and a whole vat of wine. Her husband joined us, which was lovely, and a great time was had by all.

But now I really must sleep, since I have grand plans to write in the morning - goodnight!

heading for the open road

I meant to go to bed an hour ago, but I started messing around online and that was the end of me. Today was pretty good, despite my ridiculous headache; I trained with Alyssa, made it into the office by ten, had some really productive meetings, had lunch with Alaska Matt, and got down to <20 emails in my work inbox (my personal inboxes have abandoned all hope). And I spent some serious quality time talking to Heather (aka dear respected madam) in her car like the sketchy people we are; we were supposed to have dinner, but she canceled because her stomach hurt, but then she stopped by my building and we talked almost as long as we would have talked at a restaurant. The only downside was that I didn't get fed, so I had to survive a v. unexpectedly unpleasant shuttle ride home by eating some string cheese and taking a nap.

But now, I must sleep so that I can go to work, get done everything I need to get done, and leave so I can write a million words this weekend. Goodnight!

i've wasted my nights, you've turned out the lights

Today was somehow v. productive, v. social, and v. frustrating all at once - I think my head is about to explode from trying to manage it all. Or maybe my head is about to explode because I'm on the knife-edge of getting sick - nothing feels quite right, and I keep losing my train of thought in a most uncharacteristic way. But I'm hoping that I can be in bed in ten minutes and get eight hours of sleep (the math doesn't add up, unfortunately).

sssanyway, I got up at 6:15, caught the 7:15 shuttle, and regretted that I had taken the time to dry my hair since that shuttle took an hour and forty minutes to get to the office. Ugh, nightmare. I had meetings almost straight through all day, and the bits of time that had originally been free got filled with impromptu conversations with people. So that was all good, although I didn't answer any email or do anything else worth noting.

But I held true to my goal of leaving at four so that I could get back to the city for a writing date. And I happened to run into Chandlord at the shuttle stop, so we sat together and talked all the way back, which probably means that someone is going to find a way to get us fired, since talking on the shuttle is the biggest faux pas known to man. She made some excellent jhokes, though, including one with a guidebook that cannot be recreated in a way that will give you satisfaction - so if I get fired, it was worth it. I made it to the city at 5:30, and I got off at the stop after my own so that I could meet up with Kathia for a writing date. On my way to the date, I stopped in at Benefit and got them to put mascara on me, since I somehow forgot to put mascara on this morning - total amateur move that left me ashamed all day.

But the ladies at Benefit rectified my tragic situation, and so I was able to walk into the cocktail bar with my head held high. Kathia and I wrote for almost two hours, which was v. necessary; I rewrote most of a scene and I think I'm happy with the results. Then we parted company and I met up with Terry and Lauren (aka Subz) at A16 to have a v. v. belated birthday celebration for Lauren. Her birthday was in August, but we hadn't formally recognized it, so the three of us had dinner and a much-needed catchup (since I hadn't seen Lauren since our infamous drink-fest to celebrate Terry's birthday six weeks ago).

And now, I'm falling asleep and must get up early to train with Alyssa at eight a.m. Ugh. Goodnight!

i hope you fall in love and it hurts so bad

I'm wiped out tonight - I think I've avoided the cold that I was in the midst of getting, but I'm not sure I'm totally out of the woods. It doesn't help that everyone on my team is sick - the odds aren't good. Yes, I'm a hypochondriac.

But I may also be wiped out because I got up at 6:15 and wrote for an hour before my 8am meeting - a very strange and surreal development, since I dislike mornings, but it was really great to feel like I'd already done some writing for the day before the sun even came up. Then I worked from home for two hours, went to Palo Alto and trained with Alyssa, showered, and got to work in time for lunch. Then I worked the rest of the afternoon in a somewhat desultory fashion, since it was mostly meetings and catching up with teammates, none of which was particularly taxing.

I left the office at 6:15 with grand plans to write, but I was starving, so I went to Palo Alto first and had a salad at Sprout. While there, I made the horrific discovery that Miyake Sushi is no more - that favorite disgusting sushi haunt of Stanford students has been replaced by an upscale steakhouse. Palo Alto really has gone to the venture capital dogs. After eating salad, I walked to Philz with the intention of writing there, but the tables were all taken and I was suddenly exhausted. So I got a coffee, drove home, talked to Terry for a few moments, took care of a couple of tings, and am now going to go to bed so I can repeat this all tomorrow. Goodnight!

some nights

I stayed home from work today. I was probably more productive than I would have been if I had gone into the office, but it still wasn't great; I'm tired and achey, and I had a raging headache. But my cough is still subtle and I only sneezed a few times, so I'm hoping that I've staved off the worst of whatever this is. We shall see, we shall see.

But since I was a total hermit and nothing exciting happened, I have nothing to report. Goodnight!

how can we be lovers if we can't be friends

I'm on the very knife-edge of a cold. I can feel it beginning behind my eyes, and also nestling somewhere in the vicinity of my tonsils. I was so fucking close to reentering my regular life after a glorious trip abroad without coming down with a cold, but if this progresses, I will have failed just as it seemed that victory was within my grasp. I suppose that's suitably French of me, but I would have preferred to stay healthy.

So, today wasn't nearly as productive as I had hoped; I worked pretty steadily this morning, at least after I got out of bed and showered (which could have happened much earlier, since I woke up at five and should have just gotten up rather than lazing around in bed until seven or eight). I also talked to Terry, whom I hadn't spoken to in any detail since getting back from Paris, so that was nice. But sometime after noon I started to take a turn for the worse, and by three I really wasn't feeling well. So I cuddled up in bed, talked to my mom, looked for soup recipes, and then schlepped myself a few blocks down the street to pick up the ingredients for said soup.

The soup turned out to be quite lovely, and will probably be even better tomorrow - it's a roasted garlic soup with chicken and cream, and it was delish. Also, the whole house and my whole body probably smell like garlic - it called for roasting twenty cloves of garlic, and then adding another ten cloves of fresh garlic to the soup along with the roasted stuff. But it was warm and soothing and gluten-free, which was exactly what I wanted. So I ate the soup while watching some football with Terry, and now I'm going to go to bed even though it's not quite 9:30 so that I can sleep for a million hours and then make a gametime decision about whether to go to the office or whether to stay home and nurse my sadness. Goodnight!

did I play my song too loud

I am suddenly way too tired to blog or do anything else - I'm in the midst of edits, and I'm still jetlagged, so my mind is quickly turning to mush. I need to conserve words if I'm going to be at all useful tomorrow, so this is all you're getting from me- goodnight!

kiss me like it's do or die

I had grand plans to write tonight, but I'm so jetlagged and tired that I'm going to go to bed instead. Today was utterly uneventful; I took the shuttle (and read on it, which worked really well) to the airport, and then I slogged all morning until it was time to have lunch with Gyre (whom I haven't seen since April) and Lizzie (who quit years ago and is now studying up in Seattle). It was great to see them, even if I was reminded that Gyre and I have done a terrible job staying in touch for meals and things. C'est la vie, I suppose.

I eventually left the office and sat in traffic forever, then got my bangs trimmed and my eyebrows waxed. I also picked up groceries, although I was too wiped out to make anything tonight. And now, I'm going to go to bed before I type anything truly embarrassing, and I shall hope that I remember all my great ideas tomorrow. Goodnight!

the lion sleeps tonight

Apologies for not blogging last night - I had a v. long, v. uneventful flight back to SFO after a couple of miserably inefficient hours at Charles de Gaulle, and I thought I was doing great until I suddenly, irrevocably crashed. So I went to bed at 7:30pm and didn't wake up until six (with one brief five-minute awakening around one). That amount of sleep was apparently v. necessary, and I'm hoping it helps to stave off the cold I'll probably pick up now that I'm back in the petrie dish that is my office.

But today was a weird, soft reentry into work; I got up at six, went down to the south bay to train with Alyssa at eight, and then made it to the office just in time to leave again. My team had an offsite planned at the Monterrey Aquarium, so we took a bus down there, ate lunch overlooking the water, and then wandered around the aquarium. We left down there at 2:30, and I then spent 3.5 hours on a bus - first to get back to Mountain View, then to get to the city. Bleh. All told I spent about six hours either on a bus or in my car today, which wasn't really pleasant. But the aquarium was nice and it was great to have a day of official work that didn't involve me opening my laptop.

And now I desperately need to sleep - someone was coughing all the way home on the shuttle, and I'm convinced I'll get pneumonia if I don't sleep it off. Goodnight!

it's either sadness or euphoria

I am ready to go home, I suppose, but only because I feel like I have to be. I had a brief, vivid moment this afternoon where I had a visceral urge to throw my cellphone into the Seine and run away forever, but I have somehow survived.

In short, today was dreamy in its perfection. I slept in a bit, choosing to skip Kathia and Terry's rendezvous at the Musee d'Orsay, and then wandered down toward the Tuileries and the Louvre with no intention of going into the museum and every intention of taking pictures of whatever outdoor features struck my fancy. Then I rendezvoused with my friends, and we made a v. fortuitous decision to go stand in the lunch line for Le Comptoir, which we had been trying to get into throughout our entire time in Paris. I was fueled by the desire to sit outside with the blankets draped over all the seats that were embroidered with the figure of a pig, and Kathia and Terry were motivated by the food - and we all won.

I've had some fabulous meals on this trip, and I think that the Basque pig dish at Glou on Sunday is still the winner for best dish - but for best meal overall, Le Comptoir may have beat it. We started with a charcuterie plate, a cheese plate, and a dish of mushrooms with foie gras - omg, delicious. The ham on the charcuterie plate was the best thing ever - except for the fried pig skins, which were also the best thing ever. But then they were topped by the entrees - we had a beef (bouef) dish that would have been the winner in any other setting, but it was blown out of the water by this pork dish that I can't describe but was truly orgasmic. I was apparently flushed and clearly aroused throughout this meal, and the waiters got the point when Kathia and I both snapped at them at any attempt to clear our plates. But the waiter was oddly charmed when I draped the blanket over my chest like a shawl and declared myself queen of Le Comptoir, so I think we made some friends. We ended it with a perfect chocolate pot de creme and some coffee, and I wanted to die from happiness.

After that, we were going to go write, but when we got to the place we were going to, Kathia and I had both hit the wall so hard from the dying breaths of our aroused adrenaline rush that we said goodbye to Terry and came back to the hotel to take naps. I didn't sleep as much as Kathia did since I had a romance writer task to take care of, which was super annoying - but I did get a nap, which was super necessary. Then we met up with Terry at a cute little wine/bookstore, where we had three different pichets of wine across the three of us and generally admired everything about Paris. Then we went back to Glou on a whim and had charcuterie, beef, cheese, and dessert - it wasn't as perfect as Sunday, but it was the perfect denoument. We finished with a walk along the Seine, and now I should sleep - our flight is at ten tomorrow, which means I must get up far earlier than I would like. The real world awaits, but for now, I can wish you bonsoir!

you want to party in france?

I continue to be in miraculously perfect health, and so today was yet another delight. Kathia and I woke up sometime before eight and proceeded to the Cafe du St Denis on Ile-de-St-Louis, where I had an omelette du fromage (cheese and more cheese) and we both attempted to write. The attempt was mostly successful, although I still hate Prudence (although Kathia told me I need to adjust my attitude, which is probably correct). We ordered some morning champagne to try to help things along, which I suppose was a good idea, although I think I should probably drink some water at some point while on French soil. Terry met up with us there, and we adjourned to do some much-deserved (not-at-all-deserved) shopping in the Marais.

And thus began my pretty-much-perfect day. Kathia has even more of a weakness for lingerie than I do, and we stumbled upon a great lingerie store where we all spent far too much money on unmentionables. This was en route to the street that I had read about where three or four amazing stationery stores lived - and when I got there, I was so overwhelmed by the window displays that I didn't want to go into any of them. We went into one and I bought a new journal, but I held off on buying more because the other amazing one didn't open until two. So we adjourned to a nearby cafe and had steak and red wine, which was amazing. Then we went back to the stationery stores, I explored the other store, and then went back to the original store and bought three more notebooks.

My heaven should have been complete at that point, but there was more in store; we went to St. Germain and had tea at Mariages Freres, which is a grand French tea establishment founded in 1854 that has six hundred varieties of tea available. The tea list is on a placard, but each tea is explained in more detail in a novel-sized paperback book that comes with the menu. We got three teas, each better than the last, and a tea-infused creme brulee that was tastier than anything should rightfully be. Kathia and Terry also got scones, but I turned my nose up at the flour and instead just had a bite of butter and jam (which is the whole point of scones anyway). Kathia and I wrote a bit more there, but then we adjourned to the hotel so that I could take a nap - at that point I was like an overstimulated toddler at Disneyland whose every childish dream has come true, and I needed to sleep before I had a meltdown.

But I was properly revived by 6:45, so I put on a party dress and we went out to meet a couple of my coworkers who also chose to come to Paris after last week's book fair. We had a v. lovely dinner at Le Petit Chatelet, which is next to Shakespeare and Company (the famous English-language bookstore). I didn't have high hopes since it looked touristy from the outside, but our appetizers were delicious (and I gorged on foie gras, which is illegal in California, much to the shock and horror of our waiter) and the entrees were all delectable. It may shock you to know that I ordered chicken, but the chicken was awesome and I have no regrets.

We all parted ways at eleven, and then Kathia, Terry and I had a nightcap in the hotel lobby. And now I must go to bed. Paris has thus far been pretty much perfect, so I don't know whether to look forward to my last full day tomorrow with anticipation or dread - it doesn't seem like it can get better, and yet it doesn't seem likely that it will be worse. Either way, I will blog tomorrow unless my heart explodes tonight from happiness. Bonne nuit!

when the last king of hollywood shatters his glass on the floor

I had the very best day today - Paris is truly a moveable feast, particularly when you a) don't have pneumonia and b) know that you can't eat gluten, which means c) I felt vibrant and alive rather than deathly ill like on my previous trips. It was brisk and chilly most of the day, but the sun was out and everything was tres chic. Kathia and I met Terry at the cafe across from the hotel, where we had a perfectly acceptable omelette to keep me from gnawing off my own flesh as I would have done if they had gone out for croissants. Then we wandered through the streets and alleys of Paris and did some window shopping - it could have quite easily turned into real shopping, but the shops we admired were all closed. We stopped for Champagne at Les Deux Magots in St. Germain, which is famous for being the cafe where Hemingway, Beauvoir, Sartre, Camus and others used to hang out. The old man next to us was busy telling his companion that it was rude to order Champagne as we ordered our bubbly, and he likely thought it was even ruder that we were taking photos and tweeting, but c'est la vie.

We then continued our peregrinations to the Jardin du Luxembourg, a v. lovely park with all sorts of trees and flowers. I was on the hunt for great statues to take pictures of, since I'm still researching the not-so-secret non-gargoyle young adult book - and today was awesome for inspiration, to the point that I want to promptly go off the grid and write both this book and the next romance at the same time. It won't happen, but I can dream. After the jardin, we were feeling a bit parched since we hadn't had a drink in an hour - so we stopped at some cafe that looked so-so from the outside but was incredible on the inside. It had four floors of extravagant tables and decorations and carpets and the like, and we had red wine and v. delicious steak frites.

Thus properly nourished, we parted ways; Kathia and I went back to the hotel to take naps, while Terry went for a run (foolish choice). I only slept for forty minutes, and then went down to the hotel bar and drank tea and wrote for an hour, which was v. necessary. Then Terry came back, and she and I brainstormed Prudence for a bit before I retrieved Kathia. We wandered around the Marais, stopping at some charming but odd little bar for wine and charcuterie/fromage (the meat and cheese were fine, but not as good as last night, but the wine was quite tasty). Then we window shopped some more before stumbling across a restaurant called Glou, which we decided we had to eat at based solely on the fact that the inside smelled v. deliciously of truffles. So we sat outside drinking some gorgeous red wine from Languedoc and playing with an overly enthusiastic dog until our table was ready.

And it was all simply fantastic. I had a dish that I can't describe and will never have again, which gave me a profound, ineffable sense of sadness because it was one of the most delicious things I've ever had. The name was 'boudin du pays Basque', and it was essentially some sort of chopped/reconstructed sausage patty, cooked to a delectably caramelized char on the outside and perfectly seasoned internally. It looked horrible, so I didn't take a picture, but it gave me the happiest sense of wonder I've had over food in a long time. And the mashed potatoes with it were nearly as good, if more pedestrian. Combined with the wine (and the good company, of course, although I kind of forgot about them), it was a meal I hope I never forget. In fact, I hope that if I have dementia someday, my grandkids get sick of hearing me say 'Sausage? Did I tell you about the time I had this most amazing sausage in Paris?' Yes, that's a buzzkill.

After dinner, we sat around and drank coffee and talked some more, then wandered back to our hotel, saying goodbye to Terry along the way. And now I shall go to bed - Kathia and I have grand plans to write in the morning before we pursue other Parisian adventures, and I want to accomplish many tings. Bonsoir!

i hope that you don't suffer

Hello, Paris! As much fun as I had in Frankfurt, I'm v. glad to be on vacation, and even gladder to be in Paris. I managed to escape the book fair without picking up a cold, so I guess my suitcase full of holistic medicines protected me - I'm sure I'll get sick as soon as I get home, but as long as I'm able to enjoy Paris, I don't care. This morning was uneventful; I woke up, showered, finished packing, had one final amazing omelette, and got to the train station embarrassingly early for my trip to Paris. The train ride was uneventful, and I managed to do just a bit of writing when I wasn't inadvertently napping or staring out the window at the gorgeous countryside.

Upon arrival in Paris, I took a cab to my hotel, where I rendezvoused with Kathia, who had arrived yesterday. She was about to use the sauna, which I had no interest in, so I went out for a belated lunch of steak and red wine (lunch (and breakfast, and dinner) of champions) and did some totally awesome people watching. Then I came back to the hotel, found Kathia again, and then met up with Terry, who arrived from London this afternoon. The three of us wandered around for a few hours, including some time taking pictures of Notre Dame (yes, I'm researching the secret non-gargoyle young adult book), and more importantly including some time at a cute little wine bar, where we had red wine and charcuterie/cheese. Then we went for dinner at a restaurant we'd seen earlier, and it totally surprised us - the outside had purple patio furniture, leading me to believe the inside would be tres chic, but instead it was a throwback to a gothic mansion, with a lot of heavy wood furniture and crypt-like walls. This was topped off by a waiter who hummed to himself the entire night and a preternaturally young-looking couple in the corner who may have been vampires. Needless to say, I was in alt (which, perhaps is needful to say, is a Regency phrase for something along the lines of high-flyingly-ecstatic to the point of unseemly excitement).

After dinner, Terry went off to find her airbnb, and Kathia and I had cocktails and talked writing shop in the hotel bar. And now I'm all cozy and eager for bed - bonsoir!

but you never really had a doubt

I meant to go to bed a million hours ago, but I have no regrets. Unless, of course, I wake up with pneumonia in the morning, in which case I will hate myself. But I had a totally lovely day - I slept well, had a ridiculously nice breakfast, went to the book fair, accomplished some great tings, hung out with coworkers, and explored the little shops set up in one of the many vast courtyards, where someone convinced me to buy earrings as a souvenir of Frankfurt. I was back at the hotel by five, and I succeeded in packing everything up, leaving me just enough time to walk twenty minutes each way to the nearest Starbucks so that I could find a Frankfurt mug (I succeeded).

When I got back to the hotel, I thought I was going to have a quiet dinner with one of my coworkers at the hotel, but we ran into all the people who were meeting up to go out, and we got dragged along with them. It turned out to be quite lovely; I talked to some people I hadn't had a chance to catch up with yet, and I had a delicious steak and some great red wine, so that was all nice. Then I got dragged even further into the night and ended up at Spritzerhaus, some really divey bar where there was a live band covering American/British rock (and smoking while they sang/drummed, which was v. unexpected). I lasted for about five songs, but then another girl and I bailed since we both have early travel plans tomorrow.

And that means I should really sleep - I'm only going to get six hours now, which is better than nothing but not really enough. Still, my time in Germany has been incredible, and I'm sad that it's over. But I can't really be sad when I'm off to Paris in the morning - yes, life is hard. Goodnight!

got emotions that'll make it last

I don't want this book fair to ever end, but I also don't want to wait any longer to go to Paris...conundrum. Tomorrow is my last day in Frankfurt, and today was pretty smashing even if my wristband says I walked almost nine miles - I think I believe it. I had to be at my company's booth by nine a.m., which was pretty wretched, but my morning was mostly fun and not at all taxing, so it was kind of nice to hang out with coworkers and chat up the passers-by. I had lunch at the fair, which was a mistake since the only thing I could eat was pretty terrible. But I think I could find something else tomorrow - you would not believe the size of this convention center. Apparently the Frankfurt Book Fair attracts 280,000 people a year, and it's spread out in a convention center that has ten different halls that could each hold a very respectably-sized convention in their own right. And [censored] would be [censored] to know that Placebo is playing somewhere in that complex later this year - ah, memories.

After lunch, I wandered around a bunch of booths and had the supreme thrill of finding my books sitting on the shelf of the agent who is working to sell my foreign translation rights; she was in a meeting, so I didn't bug her, but I took a surreptitious photo and may try to say hi tomorrow. And I saw a lot of the stuff in the hall where my company is located; I somehow doubt that I'm going to get through the other nine tomorrow, but we shall see.

I took a break in the afternoon, since my feet were killing me; my hotel is right across the street from the convention center, but it's a fifteen minute walk to get from our hall at the other end of the complex to my hotel. But I schlepped myself home, took a nap, and did some work for the day job for an hour or so. Then I went back to the conference for a meeting with some other people at six p.m. Then we left, grabbed a bus back to the hotel, saw the line for taxis to take us to dinner, and were dismayed. Ravi and I decided to walk to dinner, even though it was 2.5miles (would have been shorter, but the bridge we planned to take was closed), and we still beat some of the people who were waiting for cabs when we left. But dinner was delicious - Greek food and copious amounts of wine, which is all good enough for me.

But in an utterly shocking turn of events, I managed to leave and go home after dinner (at 10:30pm) rather than continuing to some string of afterparties. My inner peer-pressure-succumbing social butterfly is sad, but my rational doesn't-want-to-get-sick-before-Paris side is thrilled at my unusual display of fortitude and common sense. I'm sure I'll throw it all out the window tomorrow. But now, it's time for bed!

you want a maserati?

I need to go to bed immediately, right now, at once - I meant to come home three hours ago, but I knew that was never going to happen. Today was totally awesome; I slept later than I should have, ate another delicious German omelette, and then went over to the exhibition hall, where I hung out with coworkers, walked around others' booths, and manned my company's booth for a couple of hours. I was done with all my scheduled stuff by three p.m., and I tried to wander around, but I ran out of energy (the conference area is a million square miles, equivalent to the square footage of Kazahstan) and my feet were destroyed. So I came back to the hotel at four, ordered room service to make up for the fact that I couldn't eat any of the conference food, and then took a nap.

Thus restored, I went out for dinner with the broader team, which was totally awesome; we ate at a v. fancy French place, where the wine kept coming (in magnums, not regular bottles, which felt particularly extravagant). I sat with some people I didn't know all that well before, but it was super fun and an excellent chance to meet people. Then I was going to make it back to the hotel and was on the verge of getting into a cab that would have carried me to safety when I was coerced into going to another bar for one more drink. There, I talked to a lovely Frenchman/coworker about life and fate and whether one should move to new countries every year (clearly the answer is yes), and escaped after a glass of wine (boo) but before the jagermeister shot (thank you, Jesus).

And now, I must sleep, since I must be up in six hours. Goodnight!

open the door, i'm gonna make you love me

I had intended to go to bed an hour ago, but if I go to bed a little after midnight at a conference, I consider that a success. Today was pretty awesome, all in all - I actually slept nine full hours last night and only woke up once, which is unheard of for the first day of jetlag. I credit the veritable pharmacy of over-the-counter holistic medicines I brought with me to try to stave off my inevitable cold/bronchitis - I took melatonin last night, which I've heard is a wonder drug, and it seemed to work (and is about to knock me out again). And this morning I loaded up on echinacea, zinc, and a whole emergen-C packet, which will probably do nothing, but I have my fingers crossed and my shank prepared to kill anyone who coughs within twenty feet of me.

So I woke up around ten, ordered room service (what turned out to be one of the best hotel omelettes I've ever had), showered, worked, and went downstairs for a meeting with other people from my company this afternoon. It was pretty good, despite the fact that I could eat none of the snacks (zee Germans apparently haven't heard of gluten-free, although it's still easier for me than it is for the vegetarians). We ended at five, I came upstairs and did some more work, and then we all went out for dinner at a German beer house. That means I had bratwurst, of course - they brought three bratwurst, which seemed excessive, but without buns (which would never occur to them to use anyway), I ate every single damn bite. Yum. I also had a lot of riesling and most of a large shot of schnapps, most of which was a mistake, even if it was over enough of a time frame that I didn't get anywhere close to messy. After dinner, many of us adjourned to another hotel's bar, where we hung out for awhile, but I left after an hour when I realized that the party was probably not quite my scene (mostly because I was too tired to enjoy the thought of being hungover tomorrow).

I walked back to my hotel with another girl, where we promptly bought water and went to our respective rooms. And now I must sleep if I have any hope of being useful tomorrow - goodnight!

no more counting dollars, we'll be counting stars

I need to go to bed immediately if I'm going to try to get on German time, but it's so tempting to stay up and work when I feel conscious instead of groggy. My flight last night was totally uneventful, albeit a bit uncomfortable; thank goodness I was in economy plus, since I would have felt truly claustrophobic if the seat in front of me had been closer and the guy next to me encroached on my space as much as this one did. He seemed nice enough, but he was a big guy and there was a big guy on the other side of him as well, so I was sort of crowded into the aisle. C'est la vie. United tried their hardest to bring me gluten-free meals (which I'd requested), but the gluten free breakfast was a single rice cake and a cup of applesauce, which was weird since the regular breakfast had fresh melons. Luckily I had carnitas tacos last night for supper and had snacks in my bag, so I was far from dying.

I really have nothing else of interest to report; a coworker and I took a taxi to the hotel together, then adjourned so that she could work and I could theoretically work. Instead, I unpacked in a valiant attempt to stay awake, then gave in to temptation and took a forty-five minute nap. Then I had dinner with the coworker, which was a v. leisurely affair and involved eating ribeyes and drinking wine, which are two of my favorite things. So, needless to say, I'm quite happy. We'll see if this mood continues when I have to start doing work stuff tomorrow, but fingers crossed. Goodnight!

we'll be counting stars

I'm at the airport, getting ready to go to Germany for my business trip. And I realized that this is the first overseas trip I've made without Chandlord in three years - it somehow doesn't feel right to be eating airport Mexican food without her. I shall persevere, however.

Today was a hermity myriad of preparatory activities, including packing, cleaning, deciding which tech gadgets to take and preparing them for travel, etc. I also got a pedicure, which was necessary for my vanity and unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. And now, I have 45 minutes to kill before boarding - I suppose I should spend it engaged in productive efforts, but I may people watch instead. Goodnight!

gone, gone, gone

I'm tired and vaguely surly; I didn't get enough sleep last night, and I should have gone to bed an hour ago, but I made the mistake of logging into my work laptop to find something and then ended up answering email for an hour. Stupid. I am leaving for the airport in sixteen hours and I haven't packed yet, nor have I finished entering my paper edits of Alex and Prudence into my laptop so that I don't have to lug around the paper copy in addition to two laptops, a tablet, an ereader, two phones, and all the other stuff I'm taking with me.

But today was fine, albeit mildly annoying; I woke up in time to meet Kathia for an 8:45am writing date (it was supposed to be 8:30, but I was late), and I worked for a couple of hours before abandoning her. Then I grabbed a late breakfast and did some shopping on Union Street (rather unnecessarily, but I got a couple of cute dresses and some new yoga pants, all of which I look forward to wearing in Europe until I realize that even my most chic attire isn't tres chic like the Parisians). I also got a massage, which I had booked a couple of weeks ago, knowing then that I would both really need a massage today and really regret the time I needed to take to get it. My knack for finding odd massage therapists continues; this one is really good and I felt awesome after, but she did take the liberty of crawling up onto the table again and kneeling on my thighs while kneading my back. It felt good last time and it felt good this time, but today got a little weirder when she shifted forward and knelt on my ass for awhile, then later said, 'doesn't it feel good to have an open butt?' Umm. No comment?

sssanyway, beyond that little oddity, the massage was great and exactly what I needed. Then I came home, vegged out for a bit and kind of took a half-nap, then talked to [censored]. I debated for too long what to do for dinner, but I ended up running to the store and getting stuff to make chili with, which may have been a mistake since today was super hot. But I ate supper, watched some of the Stanford/Washington game, got through a bunch of stuff on my to-do list, and organized my stuff so that I can pack it tomorrow.

And now, I must sleep - perhaps I'll blog from the airport tomorrow, but if not, I'll check in when I get to Frankfurt. Goodnight!